Lake Mohave produces lunker, Arizona record

Just because the temperature has dropped and the wind is blowing like the devil doesn't mean you can't catch fish. Just ask Gary Sweet, a warehouse manager for the Riverside Resort in Laughlin.

In late October, Sweet and his wife opted to brave high winds and spent a Saturday morning fishing for striped bass at Lake Mohave. Though he didn't come home with a huge striper, Sweet did reel in a monster of a fish and a new Arizona state record to go with it.

The wind was blowing so hard out of the north that Sweet had trouble not only casting but also detecting if a fish was taking his bait. He was fishing with anchovies on 25-pound test fishing line.

"All of a sudden, I noticed my pole was bent over. So when I picked it up, it (the fish) was ripping away line. I'm lucky the fish took my bait from my heavy rod because I would have lost it on my smaller pole," Sweet wrote in an e-mail. "The fish ripped out 100 yards of line or more and took me over 40 minutes to get it in."

Sweet thought he had hooked into one of the huge stripers. But when he finally landed the fish, Sweet found himself looking at monster of a carp that measured a full 48 inches in length and had a girth of 29 inches. Sweet guesses the fish weighed in at more than 70 pounds but chose not to have it officially weighed.

"I got some people to witness my catch and then let it go. I could not see killing such a big old fish. I should have kept it and had it weighed. The world record carp was only 75 pounds and caught in France in 1987. Who knows, maybe the next world record carp swims in Lake Mohave," Sweet said.

After watching his enormous fish swim away, Sweet returned home and submitted an application with the Arizona Fish & Game Department seeking consideration of the fish for record status.

This month, Sweet received a certificate in the mail. His fish is the new Arizona state record carp in the catch-and-release category for Colorado River waters. The record is posted on the agency's Web site.

• MAKE A DIFFERENCE -- Through the years, untold numbers of hunters and anglers have shared with me their thoughts and concerns about hunting and fishing in Nevada.

Some believe they have no voice, but here's an opportunity to get involved in the thick of Nevada's wildlife management process. There is a vacancy on the Clark County Advisory Board to Manage Wildlife, and the Clark County Board of Commissioners is looking to fill it.

State law requires the county commissioners to appoint someone who is a county resident and is either a sportsman or engaged in agriculture as a rancher or farmer. Each of the state's 17 counties has an advisory board whose members serve without compensation. Members are entitled to per diem to cover travel-related expenses.

The purpose of the advisory boards is to gather input from residents and pass it on to the state Board of Wildlife Commissioners. Moreover, the advisory boards submit recommendations for the setting of fishing, hunting and trapping seasons.

The commission considers the recommendations when deliberating the establishment of regulations that deal with seasons, bag limits and other related regulations and policies.

Each member of the advisory board serves a three-year term. The term for this vacancy ends Feb. 1, 2011.

Those who are interested in getting involved can pick up an application at the Department of Air Quality & Environmental Management in the Clark County Government Center, 500 South Grand Central Parkway. Applications must be submitted no later than Jan. 11, 2008.

Doug Nielsen is an award-winning freelance writer and a conservation educator for the Nevada Department of Wildlife. He can be reached at doug@takinitoutside.com.